Chapter Two: Telling Stories at Night

  There was no light in the room, and the shopkeeper brought an emergency lamp, which was very bright after charging, but the illuminated area was not large, making Song Xin's face, who was trying to suppress her anger, seem a bit dim. Linglong felt inexplicably tense for a moment. She had never been intimidated by Song Xin's power and status before, but at this moment, she felt a little uneasy.

  "I think this house has a bad atmosphere, it reminds me of a story." Qian He Ming chimed in: "Does Little Cheng want to hear it?"

  Linglong hadn't even responded yet, when Zhou Liwen and Zhu Min chimed in: "Come on, come on, we love listening to stories! Tell us, it's not like we can sleep anyway, just casual chit-chat, Sister Cheng won't mind, right?"

  "I'm so annoyed! Why don't you four get out of here and let me enjoy the peacefulness of this mountain village 'spring' night alone!" Linglong thought to herself, but on the surface she just smiled silently.

  "Alright, I'll tell you then. But this story is a bit scary, Little Cheng, if you can't sleep at night because of it, don't blame me!" Qian He Ming chuckled twice.

  It turned out that this time was to tell a scary story to scare her, so that she, who lived alone in the dormitory, would be unable to sleep in fear! This trick was stupid and cruel, but it just hit her weakness! She was a person who easily accepted psychological suggestions. After watching a horror movie, she would have nightmares at night. For an instant, she wanted to refuse, even beg for mercy, but as soon as she saw Song Xin's teasing and provocative eyes, she endured and didn't say anything, listening to Qian He Ming continue speaking.

  "I also heard that it's a tourist destination - a farmhouse inn run by local farmers, and coincidentally, it's also one of those private family-run farmhouses. But, that place is a black shop." He lowered his voice when he said the last two words, intentionally creating an eerie atmosphere.

  "That couple, the owners of that store, are greedy and perverted. They can't stand seeing others being richer or happier than them, so whenever they see someone with a bit of money among the tourists, they'll plot to rob and murder them. That's why people who travel there often disappear without a trace. However, their methods are extremely clever, leaving no clues behind, and no bodies are ever found."

  Qian He Ming glanced at Ling Long with a meaningful look, as if hinting for her to be careful: "This couple has opened up a new plot of land next to their house, seemingly planning to expand their hotel. They dug a deep foundation, layer by layer pouring concrete, making it seem like they wanted to build something sturdy. Slowly but surely, the building was completed and received many guests from out of town. It seems that those who were murdered will never get justice... but - can you guess how this whole thing was discovered? Little Cheng, you try guessing."

  "I can't guess, you'd better say it, Old Qian." Linglong tried to control her tone of voice, so as to appear calmer, but Qian He Ming's tone and voice when speaking, plus the wrinkles on his horse face under the spotlight, were indeed a bit scary at this moment.

  "I don't know if it's a vengeful spirit or what, but this matter is really strange." Qian He Ming walked over and sat down on a low stool next to Ling Long. "That year, their place had heavy rain, resulting in a moderate-sized mountain flood. What's strange is that out of so many houses, none were destroyed except for the new one they built, which collapsed completely. Such a sturdy house, it all came crashing down, and then 'exposed' the corpses under the house. At that time, no one who saw the scene wasn't afraid. That couple was quite abnormal, after killing people, they didn't directly dispose of the bodies, but instead stored them in a place, waiting until they had four corpses before digging a deep pit, placing them neatly side by side inside, pouring a layer of cement on top, and then adding another batch, waiting until they had enough to stack on top of the previous layer, again pouring a layer of cement... doing it like this for four layers, just like building four floors underground, each floor with four dead people. And the guest rooms above ground were five, six, seven floors, that is to say - the people living in this hotel were sleeping on top of corpses! Especially those on the first floor above ground, it's as if the 'bed' was right above the dead bodies! Alas, you should also be careful about your floor, if something knocks on the 'bedboard' at midnight, it's that kind of 'thud thud' sound..."

  As soon as Qian He Ming's voice fell, "Bang" a sound, the door suddenly opened, as if it was pushed open from the outside, and the five people in the room were shocked, looking out of the door together.

  Outside the gate, it's dark and empty!

  "It's the mountain wind!" Ling said to herself in a daze, but she wasn't convinced. In this kind of weather, would the mountain wind be so strong? Although she had left the door slightly ajar in case she needed to make a quick escape from those men, the wooden door was quite sturdy and wouldn't open easily.

  "Sorry, I didn't close the 'door' well." She tried to convince herself, smiling as she said it, while feeling a bit annoyed. No matter why the 'door' was open, she was really startled.

  "You must be scared!" she added.

  To some extent, Song Xin's goal was achieved, and this ridiculous 'refined' bullying game had an effect. Qian He Ming's business level was poor, but he was good at telling stories, and when he spoke, his tone was ups and downs, sometimes tight and sometimes loose, making her heart uncontrollably follow the rhythm. And they must have heard this story before, now they were just waiting to see her joke, to satisfy their sadistic pleasure. However, after all, it was a horror story, although they had psychological preparation, but this sudden mountain wind and the loud 'door' sound caused an unexpected thrill effect, scaring everyone, so no one noticed Linglong's situation, and instead unintentionally let her get revenge pleasure.

  "Hehe, be sure to close the door tightly." Qian He Ming was the first to react, "This is a mountainous area, beware of ghosts and monsters!"

  "Speaking of these supernatural phenomena - if they find you, it's no use even if you lock the door!" Zhou Liwen also calmed down, "I believe that the soul is just a kind of energy, when you think about it, it will produce a brain wave and summon them out, especially for people living alone in old houses." She saw that Linglong had no intention of closing the door, so she went forward to close the door.

  "Is that the Canadian incident you were talking about?" Zhu Min saw Song Xin give her a signal, and quickly took over the conversation, "I'll tell this one."

  "Let's talk about it tomorrow, aren't we going to get up early and climb the mountain? Get some rest, I'm tired too." Linglong didn't want to hear them continue to put pressure on her spirit, and her tone was somewhat weak. She lived alone in a small cottage in the countryside, and if this continued, she really wouldn't be able to sleep.

  "After listening, it's really interesting." Zhu Min pretended to be naive and pouted, then started talking without waiting for Linglong's agreement. "It's about a Canadian family who bought a house in the countryside, the environment and price were very good, and the whole family moved in happily. The first few nights were peaceful, but one night, the couple was watching TV together on the first floor when they saw their five-year-old 'daughter' walking down from upstairs, her whole body seemed off. It's like her eyes didn't move at all, staring straight ahead, and her body walked stiffly." She stood up to imitate the expression she described.

  "Isn't it sleepwalking?" Linglong diverted her attention from what she said to Zhu Min.

  "It's sleepwalking." Zhu Min nodded, "The problem is that the little girl has never had a history of sleepwalking, why did she suddenly get sick? However, both husband and wife are well-educated and know not to interrupt her at this time, so they just follow behind their daughter. The little girl slowly walked into the garden, dug a few scoops of dirt, then turned around and went back upstairs to sleep soundly. The couple thought she was tired from playing during the day and still thinking about planting flowers in the garden, so they didn't pay much attention to it. But unexpectedly, starting from that night, every time it reached midnight, the little girl would sleepwalk and always go to the garden to dig a few scoops of dirt before leaving. The couple felt something was off, so they took their daughter to see a doctor, but even the doctor couldn't figure out what was wrong. This little girl, as long as she lived somewhere else, wouldn't have this problem, but once she returned home, it would definitely happen again."

  "Will there be something strange?" Song Xin asked, pretending not to know.

  "It's not, is it?" Zhou Liwen continued, "Later, her parents became more and more suspicious, so they dug deeper in the place where that little 'girl' often dug. What do you think happened? They actually found a child's skeleton underneath! After examination, it was confirmed to be the remains of a five-year-old girl who died decades ago. Why do you think the little ghost girl found that little girl? Was she looking for someone to avenge her or find a substitute?"

  "This is hard to say." Qian He Ming stroked his brow as if he understood the situation, "In my opinion, after all these years, you're looking for a young 'girl', you must be looking for a substitute. If that couple hadn't woken up early, who knows, the 'girl' might have been possessed. But to say it again, having a corpse buried under your feet is never good, over time, resentment will become a harmful thought, and people sleeping on top of them will always be unlucky." He said this while intentionally glancing at Linglong's "bed", hinting at something.